To Jinxiu Academy

Chapter 35: To Jinxiu Academy

"Hehe, long time no see." Seeing the other man standing there dumbfounded, his mouth hanging wide open, Luo Mu smiled and greeted him first.

At his words, Qu Yi came back to his senses. His expression was somewhat awkward. He smiled back at Luo Mu, then slowly shook off his embarrassment.

"Thank you for saving me, Fellow Daoist Luo." Once he had recovered, Qu Yi thanked Luo Mu sincerely, his face solemn. If Luo Mu hadn't stepped in just in time, Qu Yi would have already become a meal in the Black Bear's belly. Qu Yi was a sensible man. Though his cultivation was low, he understood the importance of repaying kindness.

But in his current situation, other than sincerely thanking Luo Mu and keeping this life-saving kindness in his heart, Qu Yi truly didn't know how else to express his gratitude.

"What are you doing here?" Luo Mu asked, perplexed. Demonic beasts were rare in this area, and it was nothing compared to the Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range, but it was still dangerous for someone like Qu Yi, who was only at the second level of the Qi Refining Stage.

"Ah!" At the mention of it, Qu Yi let out a long sigh, his face full of helplessness.

Seeing him like that only piqued Luo Mu's curiosity. Knowing there was more to the story, Luo Mu didn't interrupt. He simply waited quietly for Qu Yi to continue.

Sure enough, after Luo Mu waited a moment, Qu Yi continued.

"I cultivate the art of artifact refining. Fellow Daoist Luo should know that artifact refining, alchemy, and talisman-making are the three most expensive professions in the cultivation world. This is especially true in the early stages, when the success rate is so low that vast quantities of materials go to waste. To be frank, my family is poor and can't offer me any help with artifact refining, so I've always had to work at it alone."

At this, Qu Yi sighed again. From his words, Luo Mu could hear the deep helplessness that plagued poor rogue cultivators. The children of great lineages had their families' strength behind them and advanced by leaps and bounds. Rogue cultivators without spirit stones, on the other hand, could only rely on their own efforts, climbing one step at a time.

"I came here this time because I wanted to hunt a few low-grade, first-level demonic beasts and use their materials for artifact refining. Who knew I wouldn't find any low-grade, first-level beasts, but would end up provoking a top-grade, first-level one instead?" Qu Yi paused, then continued. As he spoke, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"I see. You came here looking for materials to refine artifacts. But with your strength, you still need to be careful. Cultivation is important, of course, but compared with your life, it's nothing. Only if you're alive can you make plans for anything else. Once you're dead, there's nothing left to think about."

Luo Mu had been through life-and-death trials himself, and now he valued life greatly. Only the living could entertain other thoughts. Once you died, there was nothing more to consider.

"Fellow Daoist Luo is right, but I really had no other choice." Qu Yi said helplessly. From his tone, Luo Mu's advice didn't seem to have made much of an impression.

That was understandable. If Luo Mu were in Qu Yi's shoes, he would still take a risk for his cultivation, as long as he had a chance of staying alive.

Having more or less guessed what was on the other man's mind, Luo Mu smiled and said nothing more. He and Qu Yi weren't close; they had only met twice. He had already offered his advice. Whether Qu Yi took it to heart wasn't something Luo Mu needed to worry about.

Luo Mu walked over to the Black Bear's corpse. Instead of releasing the White Jade Ants to devour it, he took out the dagger Poison Fang, which Qu Yi had once refined for him, and deftly butchered the beast.

Luo Mu kept the Black Bear's meat. He didn't put away its claws and hide, which could be used to refine artifacts, but tossed them to Qu Yi instead.

"Artifact refining isn't easy. Keep these materials. The finished artifact can be mine." As he tossed over the materials, Luo Mu said with a smile.

Qu Yi took the materials, his face alight with joy. The Black Bear had been killed by Luo Mu, so the materials rightly belonged to him. Yet Luo Mu had given them to Qu Yi and only asked him to refine an artifact in return. It was a delightful surprise. The materials from a top-grade, first-level demonic beast were extremely precious to Qu Yi. He hadn't expected Luo Mu to hand them over so generously, without the slightest hesitation.

"Whatever you do, don't use these materials to refine a low-grade artifact. Use them to refine a mid-grade one instead." As Qu Yi beamed at the materials, Luo Mu spoke again.

"A mid-grade artifact? The success rate is extremely low. If I fail, these precious materials will be ruined!" Qu Yi exclaimed, reminding Luo Mu.

"Low-grade artifacts have too little offensive power to be of any use to me anymore. Using these materials to make one would be a waste of good material. You might as well take a risk and try to make a mid-grade artifact. If you succeed, all the better—I'll get a mid-grade artifact. If you fail, you'll still gain experience. What's not to like?" Luo Mu said with a smile.

"But if I fail, the materials will be gone!" Qu Yi said anxiously. Even he himself had little confidence in his artifact-refining skills.

"If it really goes as you say, then I'll just have to accept my bad luck. Hehe... You don't need to feel burdened. Just refine it for me without worry. Materials from a top-grade, first-level demonic beast are precious, but they aren't that hard to get." Luo Mu smiled lightly, looking so unconcerned that he seemed not to care about the materials at all. In truth, he was just as anxious as anyone. If the refinement really failed, it would be quite a loss.

Luo Mu wasn't at the point of valuing spirit stones above all else, but he wasn't far off.

Seeing that Luo Mu was determined, Qu Yi nodded and said no more. He tucked all the materials into his Storage Bag. The way he looked at Luo Mu had clearly changed.

Qu Yi was an artifact refiner himself and was especially sensitive to magical artifacts. At a glance, he had recognized that the three artifacts Luo Mu had just used to kill the demonic beast were definitely not low-grade ones. They were likely precious mid-grade artifacts. What shocked Qu Yi most was that none of the three had been refined by him.

That meant that, along with the two mid-grade artifacts he had made, Luo Mu had at least five mid-grade artifacts in his possession! Qu Yi was left dumbfounded. What did five mid-grade artifacts even mean? Even the Qi Refining Stage disciples of the great cultivation lineages in Jinxiu City didn't have so many mid-grade artifacts!

And then there was the fact that, in just one year, Luo Mu had gone from the second level of the Qi Refining Stage to the sixth. With cultivation speed that monstrous, how many spirit medicines must he have taken?

At the thought, Luo Mu became an enigma in Qu Yi's eyes. When they first met, Luo Mu hadn't told Qu Yi anything about himself, so it was no wonder Qu Yi was now thinking this way.

"By the way, where are you planning to go now?" Just as Qu Yi's thoughts were running wild, Luo Mu spoke up, interrupting him.

"Ah? ...Now that I have materials for artifact refining, I don't plan to stay in the mountains and risk my life to find more. I'm going back to Jinxiu City, so I can refine your artifact first." Qu Yi was momentarily stunned, then answered at once.

"So you're going back to Jinxiu City now?" Luo Mu raised an eyebrow and asked, keeping his expression neutral.

"That's right," Qu Yi replied firmly, without denying it.

"Good. I'm going to Jinxiu City too, so I can give you a ride on my Flying Artifact." Luo Mu smiled.

"That would be wonderful. With your Flying Artifact, Fellow Daoist Luo, we can cut the travel time considerably. But I'll have to trouble you along the way." Qu Yi was overjoyed. Having just been chased by a demonic beast, he didn't dare venture back into the mountains alone anytime soon.

"It's no trouble. There's something I'd like to ask you about, so let's talk as we go." Luo Mu had no intention of continuing to exchange pleasantries. With a wave of his sleeve, a flash of light appeared, and the Flying Artifact—the Giant Sword—floated before him.

Luo Mu leaped onto the Giant Sword first, and Qu Yi followed. Once they were both aboard, Luo Mu wasted no time. He sent spiritual power through his feet into the sword. A brilliant light flashed, and the Giant Sword became a streak of light, like a meteor across the night sky, vanishing into the distance in an instant.

"Are you a student at Jinxiu Academy?" On the Flying Artifact, Luo Mu finally asked the question that concerned him most. Since he had decided to enroll at Jinxiu Academy, he needed to learn more about it. Qu Yi's clothes were roughly the same as those worn by the people Luo Mu had killed last time, but he still wanted to make sure.

"That's right. I'm currently studying at Jinxiu Academy. Look, this long robe I'm wearing is our Academy uniform. Hehe... It's something of a symbol of our Academy." Qu Yi smiled and fiddled with his robe as he spoke to Luo Mu.

When he mentioned Jinxiu Academy, Luo Mu could clearly hear pride in Qu Yi's voice. That was no surprise. Everyone who managed to enroll at Jinxiu Academy was a genuine cultivator, an object of admiration to ordinary mortals. Over time, the students there came to feel that they were superior to others. Qu Yi was no exception.

"Hehe, so you really are a student at Jinxiu Academy. I have a few friends studying there too. Why are their robes different from yours?" Luo Mu chuckled. The people he had killed had somehow become his friends. If they knew this from beyond the grave, they might have been so furious their seven orifices would have smoked.

"Different robes? Of course. We study in different departments, so our clothes aren't exactly the same. But they're mostly alike, with only minor differences." Qu Yi didn't doubt Luo Mu's words. When Luo Mu brought up the different robes, Qu Yi had first been puzzled. A moment later, he understood what Luo Mu meant and explained at once.

"Different departments, different robes?" Luo Mu murmured, curiosity showing on his face.